Support Heather's Recovery Journey

We are Carmel Bowron & JoAnn Miller, long-time family friends of George, Heather and Mia Ribellino.

Over the years the Ribellino family have gone above and beyond for so many and now it's time for us to help them.

On Saturday, May 18th, Heather fell in the shower due to preexisting mobility issues and while on a trip to Illinois for a family wedding. When she fell, she did a split and was able to lay herself down but not get up. Heather was transported to a hospital in Dekalb, Illinois. They established that her left femur was broken but they were not equipped enough to handle proper care for her at that hospital. They transferred her to Saint Anthony’s in Rockford, Illinois. On Saturday, they put a rod horizontally by a shin just to help with weight to keep the muscles from tightening and moving the break even more. On Monday, May 20th, they put a rod and screws in her left leg to fix the break. The break on her left leg went from a few inches down from her hip all the way to her knee. Heather kept feeling pain in the right leg and expressed this concern to the hospital staff. Thankfully they listened and after they fixed the left leg they found that the right femur was also broken, but this time further up by her hip and didn’t go as far down. On Wednesday, May 22nd they put a rod and some screws in her right leg to fix the break there. 3 surgeries and lots of metal later she is now on the journey of recovering, not one but both legs. As of right now she will still be in the hospital for a bit longer while they help her try to stand some. Most likely she will be sent to a rehab facility out in Illinois after her hospital stay. The recovery time is unknown due to both legs being broken.

The staff at Saint Anthony’s has been so wonderful and gracious listening to all of her needs. George had to go back to Connecticut to help with the dog and be able to work. Mia stayed with Heather in Illinois at the hospital until all the surgeries were complete. Mia will be returning home Sunday, May 26th so that she can get her summer internship completed. At some point George will go back out to Illinois so that Heather isn’t by herself.